Sword Art Online: Phantom Reaper || SAO OC

13 - Demon King

November 7th 2024 - 12:48pm

Outside of the 75th boss room several parties had gathered around it, waiting to receive their orders to enter the room and face the next boss.

Everyone in the assault team seemed more on edge than they'd usually be before a boss raid. They were like this because they knew floor 75 would be much more dangerous than anything they've faced before.

Every 25th floor had been a massive difficulty spike with much tougher the bosses, and it was safe to assume that floor 75 would be no different, especially since this time they knew there was no way to escape once they were inside.

Nyx stood at the back of the crowd with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He already had his Phantom Blade equipped as a one handed sword on his back. This was the first time he'd be fighting a boss on a quarter floor, since he didn't bother to fight on the front lines until Asuna and Liz learned about his Phantom Blade.

It wasn't just the feeling of going up against a very dangerous enemy, it was the atmosphere as well. Something in the air filled him with a deep sense of dread and he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

"Hey Nyx!"

A familiar sounding voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked around and saw Asuna and Kirito walking towards him. He hadn't seen them in over two weeks when they suddenly took a break from the front lines.

Nyx gave them a small wave and looked back at the boss room door.

"As distant as ever, aren't you Nyx?" Asuna's voice sounded a little less cheerful than than useful, not that it was much of a surprise given the current mood around them.

While Asuna still gave him a reassuring smile, Kirito had his gaze focused on the door. He had a tense, uncertain expression on his face, almost as if he sensed the same thing Nyx did.

"I wouldn't say distant, just focused."

"Either way, it's good to see you here. We didn't see you outside, so we thought you wouldn't show." Kirito said, sounding more relieved than he looked.

Nyx shook his head "I'm just keeping a low profile, that's all."

"You got yourself in more trouble, didn't you?" Asuna teased.

"Just a little, not that I'm ever not in any kind of trouble." Nyx nodded and looked over to his side. He noticed someone spawning in, the Commander of K.o.B himself.

"Looks like it's almost time to go in." Nyx turned to face Asuna and Kirito "You guys ready?"

Kirito clenched his fist and Asuna noticed this and took his hand and whispered in his ear "It'll be okay. I'll protect you, so you protect me too okay?"

Nyx noticed the rings on their fingers and sighed softly to himself in realization. "So that's why they disappeared..."

"You too, okay?"

Asuna's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he shot her a confused look. "Me too?"

"You'll protect us too okay? And we'll watch out for you too."

Nyx gave them a small smile, hesitantly accepting her words "Yeah, I'll look out for you."

Commander Heathcliff walked over to the door and turned to face everyone, ready to address all the assault team members.

"Are you ready?" his booming voice was clear and caught everyone's attention as he stood ready to quickly brief everyone on the strategy one last time.

"The Knights of the Blood will divert all the attention from the front line and focus on taking damage. The rest of you will observe its attack patterns and prepare to switch tactics if necessary. Are we clear?"